Radio Times (UK TV Listings Magazine)
Each time the BBC screened one of Michael J Bird's creations the Radio Times introduced it with a feature article.
The features tended to get shorter as time went on.
April 1972
"Dancing in the Streets is Off" by Bob Smyth
Lengthy feature introducing The Lotus Eaters, interviews with the stars
and with Michael Bird on location at Aghios Nikolaos. (Pages 52 -55)
(Michael Bird hated it and sent a scathingly critical letter to Smyth.)
November 1977
"Piece de Resistance" by Sheridan Morley
Lengthy interview with Jack Hedley introducing Who Pays The Ferryman?, followed
by a piece "Island of the Warm Welcome" written by Michael Bird filling in the real
life background to Crete's wartime experiences. (Pages 80 - 85)
December 1978
"Myth and Mystery" by Russell Miller
Lengthy interview with Michael Bird on location during
filming of The Aphrodite Inheritance, plays up the supernatural
influences which guided Bird. (Pages 113 - 117)
September 1983
"Shivering in the Aegean" by Deirdre Macdonald
Single page interview with Michael Bird at his Cambridge home
introduces The Dark Side of the Sun. (Page 7)
February 1985
"Deep Waters" by Renate Kohler
Single page feature
introduces Maelstrom
including quotes from the stars and Bird. (Page 7)
Photoplay
March 1979
Fairly routine contemporary interview with Alexandra Bastedo,
illustrated with three photographs from The Aphrodite Inheritance. (Pages 54-55)
Cambridge Evening News
15 October 1983
The paper's "Weekend At Home" section carries a single page interview with Michael Bird at his Cambridge home talking about The Dark Side of the Sun and The Outsider. (Page 9)
The Greek Review International
26 November 1983
Interesting interview covers a lot of the same ground
as other features but in some more depth. (Pages 22-23)
Look and Listen
November 1984
Interview with Bird from an Australian publication talking mainly
about The Dark Side of the Sun. (Pages 44-45)
Book: Greece and Britain since 1945
(Pub: May 2010)
The illustration on the cover shows a display in the windows of the Olympic Airways office in London promoting Michael J Bird's BBC series The Dark Side of the Sun
Book: Zoom in When You See The Tears
(Pub: June 2011)
is the autobiography of
BBC film maker Fred Hamilton.
In a long and distinguished career, Hamilton worked on many classic BBC productions
including Doctor Who, during the tenure of Patrick Troughton and Jon Pertwee,
Z Cars,
Out of the Unknown,
Doomwatch,
Colditz,
Paul Temple,
Target and
Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.
The book, published by
Fantom Films, is a collaborative effort between
Hamilton and Werner Schmitz.
As regular visitors to the MJB website will know, Werner has given me a great deal of help over the years and assisted greatly with my biography of Michael Bird. Werner runs MEDIA Gems excellent Paul Temple Website.
Inevitably the new book has an MJB connection -
Werner tells me:
"the Paul Temple
series is covered in detail on pp. 114-130 (with 19 behind-the-scenes images).
Bird's episode "Night Train" is covered on
pp. 114-5 (although there is no image for that particular episode)."
(Magazine of the Programme Preservation Society)
July/Sept 2002
Overview of Bird's work with the BBC by Dave Rice followed by a review and episode guide for
The Lotus Eaters. (Pages 10-13 and 44-48)
Oct/Dec 2002
Review by Dave Rice and episode guide for
Who Pays The Ferryman?. (Pages 17 - 21)
Jan/Mar 2003
Review by Dave Rice and episode guide for
The Aphrodite Inheritance. (Pages 32 - 36)
Apr/Jun 2003
Review by Dave Rice and episode guide for
The Dark Side of the Sun. (Pages 24 - 31)
Jul/Sep 2003
Review by Dave Rice and episode guide for
Maelstrom. (Pages 55 - 65)
Head-on (College Magazine)
March 1997
"Another Viewpoint" D Blyde
The editor interviews Michael Bird. (Pages 20-21)
Cambridgeshire Journal
February 2003
Book: Michael J Bird - the life and work of the man who created The Lotus Eaters
(Pub: 2006)